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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



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UNITED STATES OF 




THE CONFESSIONAL 

WHAT IT IS NOT, 
WHAT IT IS. 

BY THE EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY. 

PRICE. 25 CENTS. 



OFFICE OF SCHOOL JOURNAL. NEWTON. KANSAS 




SeCOND EDITION 



THE CONFESSIONAL 

WHAT IT IS NOT, 



WHAT IT IS. 

BY THE EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY. 
PRICE, 25 CENTS. 

( MAY 31 1393 



OFFICE OF SCHOOL JOURNAL, NEWTON, KANSAS 



1STOTICE. 

"This advantage we owe to the multiplicity ot books on the same sub- 
ject; that one falls in the way of one man, and another best suits the level or 
comprehension of another. Everything that is written does not come into the 
hands of all, and hence, perhaps, some may meet with my book who have heard 
nothing of others which have treated better the same subject." As the forego- 
ing, from one of the ancient Fathers, fully embraces our reasons for issuing the 
following pages, further comment is unnecessary. Editor. 




/ NEWTON, KANSAS: 
PRESS OF THE CATHOLIC EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY. 




The Confessional. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE CONFESSIONAL. — WHAT IT IS NOT. — WHY NON-CATHOLICS DO 
NOT WISH TO SFEAK OF IT OR DISCUSS THE POWER OF 
FORGIVING SINS. 

It is a matter of no little surprise with what alacrity non- 
Catholics speak of the achievements of the Church. They are willing 
to look down the vista of ages and in the light of history to accord to 
the Church the civilizing and christainizing of every tribe, people and 
nation that now has or ever had the light of faith. The preservation 
of the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient classic literature from the de- 
vastating hand of the northern barbarians that swept Europe, leaving 
but ruin and destruction in their wake, is readily attributed to the 
Catholic Church. There is nothing but praise for that Church which 
gave birth to the ancient republics of Venice, Genoa, Florence and 
Pisa, and which gave to the world the universities of Rome, Florence, 
Padua, Louvain, Salamanca, Paris, Oxford and hundreds of others of 
lesser note. They are loud in praise of a religion that made the 
marble breathe, the organ sing, the canvas speak and the cold ca- 
thedral stones glorify God, They love to dwell upon the Church's 
charity, which, like that of her divine Master, knows no person, no 
people, no nation; but the world over, in the hospitals, asylums, 
plague-stricken districts, on the battle-field, amidst shot and shell, 
among the dying and dead, her gentle hand is felt, her sympathetic 
voice is heard and her hope r ul smile is soul-inspiring. In a word, the 
Church's glories are discussed with as much warmth and admiration 
by non-Catholics of intelligence as by some of her own sons; while 
her doctrines are spoken of in no disparaging tone, but seemingly 
for the purpose of being better understood. There is one doctrine, how- 
ever, one subject which they do not wish to hear or discuss and this 
is the sacrament of penance or, as they are want to call it, the 



4. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



Confessional. But this is not a subject of astonishment to the 
student of history. Ever since the defection of Martin Luther it 
has been credited to Catholic belief that the priest kept his dupes in 
subjection and superstition by means of the confessional. It has 
been announced from the pulpit and by means of the press that for a 
money consideration the confessor freed the penitent of his sins and 
sent him forth to indulge his passions, enjoy his ill-gotten goods and 
kill, if need be, reputed heretics. In too many instances malice 
prompted these slanders of the Confessional. There is no denying 
that the fundamental doctrine of the father of the reformation, "Faith 
alone is sufficient," created a disgust for, and militated against, the 
Confessional. The doctrine of predestination, as advanced by John 
Calvin, rendered good works worse than useless and the Confessional 
a rock of scandal. For obvious reasons persons of easy morals were 
not hard to make believe the new doctrine and hold the Confession- 
al as the propaganda of immorality. All except the semblance of 
the sacred tribunal dropped from Protestant religious practice and 
only a ridiculous parody, the making of public confession, remained. 
Protestants imagine that at these so-called confessions the Holy 
Spirit speaks to the soul of the sinner and tells him that "he is ab- 
solved, regenerated, sealed w ith(?) the Lamb, a member of the just made 
perfect, one of the chosen ones of the Most High, "etc. Many a hear- 
ty "amen" goes up when the sinner tells the assembled congregation, 
pharisee-like, what the Spirit breathed into him. In this masquerade 
the idea of grievous offences against God is lost sight of, Magdalene- 
like humility is disregarded and self-announced righteousness alone 
is considered. Who ever heard the crimes that undermine com- 
mercial, family and social circles confessed thus? The minister never 
thinks of getting down to public confession, nor do his hearers ever 
accuse themselves except in a general way. Is it any wonder, then, 
that non-Catholics do not take kindly to the Ccnfessicnal? Is not 
the mode of reconciliation adopted by the reformers much easier to' 
flesh and blood than that which the Catholic chi rch teaches ar d prac- 
tices? But does not reason dictate that, as the offense is committed 
against God, God, and not man, has the right to say how the offence 
is to be blotted out and reconciliation effected? 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE CONFESSP \L IS NOT THE INVENTION OF PRIESTS. THE MOST 

ANCIENT OF THE FATHERS SPEAK OF IT. PAGAN PHILOSO- 
PHERS FAVOR CONFESSION. 

Another reason may be alleged why non-Catholics do not 
wish to speak of the Confessional, and it is this: for centuries have 
Protestant pulpits resounded with the gratuitous assertion that the 
Confessional is the invention of the priests. Now, if this be so, why 
not name the date when it was first introduced and state the name 
of the inventor? The most ancient of the Fathers of the church 
speak of confession as an institution which had existed from the 
very foundation of Christianity. St. Clement, of Rome, a contempor- 
ary of St. John, urges the faithful to confess their sins to the priest 
in order to be reconciled to God. Tertullian, who lived in the sec- 
ond century, speaks of the Confessional so clearly that there can be 
no doubt of its existence in his time. ''I think," says he, "there are 
some who shun confession as an exposure of themselves or put it off 
from day to day, thinking more of the shame than of their cure, like 
those who, affected with some disease, conceal it from the physi- 
cian and perish through shame. "* St. Ireneus, St. Cyprian, Origen and 
many of the ancient Fathers and writers speak in the same explicit 
manner. The obligation is binding on all the members of the 
Church, priests, bishops and the pope himself, but this would not be 
so were the Confessional the invention of priests. If confessions 
have not come down from the apostles, the innovation, like all here- 
sies, must have left a distinct mark on the pages of history; a univer- 
sal outcry must have been raised against the bold innovator who 
first obliged all Christians, including priests, bishops and popes, to 
confess their most secret offences to a man like themselves. Where 
does history record the innovation? When did the loud voice o 
the chronicler of events proclaim that Christians were first obliged 
to go to confession? The voice of reason is loud against those who 
make the confessional what it is not, or who would destroy its very 
existence. Who, conscious of sin, persuaded of his frailty, loaded with 

*De Pen. 



6. 



THE CONFESSTONAL. 



guilt, i tung with remorse, in dread of the judgment of God on account 
of mortal sin committed after baptism, would not be glad that Christ, 
and not man, has instituted a means of obtaining pardon? A friend 
seeks relief by revealing his secret sorrows to a friend; the sick dis- 
close their secret disorders to a physician; men apologize for their 
< ffences to each other; criminals, goaded by remorse, often give them- 
selves up to public justice ; the robber and the thief for the same reasons 
restore their ill-gotten goods; the murderer often makes public evi- 
dence against himself on the scaffold. So deeply is the principle of 
confession rooted in our nature that Seneca and other pagan phi- 
losophers laud the advantage of the confession of faults to a friend. 

"Why does the world hate the Confessional? I will tell you in a 
word. Because the men ot the world are afraid of laying their 
hearts open. They know that there are black spots, that there are 
dark stains, deep wounds, old scars, open sores, and they hide them 
in darkness. The innocent have no fear, for their hearts are un- 
spotted, and though conscious of many faults and many weaknesses 
they are free from the stains and the wounds of an evil life. They 
are not afraid; to them Confession is easy. But those who are con- 
scious that they are carrying within them a secret the world does 
not know, of which their neighbors are not aware, which the nearest 
of them does not expect, which they would rather die than reveal, 
— according to the shrinking of flesh and blood, forgetting all the 
while that God knows everything, — they fear and hate the thought 
of Confession. This is the true reason why the world rails against 
Confession; this is the reason why every revolution that breaks out 
at once burns the Confessional. It dare not come near the Confes- 
sional. When it sees a Confessional, it sees a forerunning witness 
of the great White Throne and the day of judgment, and to get rid 
of this intolerable reality the anti-Christian revolution tears it out 
of the church and burns it in the street."* 

^Cardinal Manning. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



7. 



• CHAPTER III. 

ALL CHRISTIANS SHOULD ADMIT THAT JESUS CHRIST MUST HAVE INSTI- 
TUTED A MEANS OF RESTORING PEACE AND GRACE TO THE 
SOUL AFTER ITS DEFILEMENT BY MORTAL SIN, AND 
SHOULD ACCEPT, RATHER THAN REPUDI- 
ATE, THIS GREAT BOON. 

It is strange that those who call themselves Christians will 
not even stop to investigate one of the most consoling of doctrines and 
one of the most elevating of practices. Who professing faith in Chris- 
tianity can deny it? With Christ comes the realization of the fondest 
hopes of the just in the Old Law; with Christ come undreamt-of 
heavenly benisons; with Christ comes a peace to which the world 
had been a stranger; with Christ comes a remedy for every evil, a 
balm for every heart; with Christ come hope to the despairing, joy 
to the sorrowing and health to the sick of soul and body. That 
downcast, wayward daughter of Eve, despised by society, shunned 
by her former associates, whose very presence caused the crim- 
son blush of shame to mantle the cheeks of the pure, is lovingly re- 
ceived and mercifully absolved by Him who was the Way and the 
Truth and the Refuge of sinners. Yet, in the evening of the en- 
lightened nineteenth century, though a scandal to modern Pharisees, 
are the same words, "thy sins are forgiven," "go in peace and sin no 
more," repeated five thousand times a day to as many repenting" 
Magdalenes in the sacred tribunal. Thus is the saving blood of 
Jesus Christ applied to our souls; thus does He prove to us the truth 
of the words of the Holy Ghost, "Come to me all ye that labor and 
are heavily burdened and I will refresh you;" thus does He give re- 
newed evidence of His love; in fine, thus does He show that He is not 
only the light of the world but the salt of the earth, which cures the 
sores and festering wounds. Sin is the sore spot of the soul; sin is 
the hideous ulcer of society; sin is the death-dealing leprosy that 
abounds everywhere: in commercial pursuits, making men untrust- 
worthy and dishonest; in domestic circles, making servants defraud 
and steal, making masters exacting and unjust, making children 
disobedient, making parents forgetful of their sacred duties toward 



a. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



their offspring, making young men impure and married men un- 
faithful; in social and political circles, making Christians so far for- 
get themselves as to indulge in back-biting, calumny, detraction and 
other vices condemned by the law of God and revolting to nature 
itself: in fine, making slave-owners, soul-barterers, having everything 
venal, everything ready to sacrifice on the altar of personal prefer- 
ment. To purge out all this leaven of wickedness, to remedy all 
these ills, to heal all these wounds, to sweeten all the bitterness and 
corruption of society, Jesus Christ has provided the salt of the earth, 
the bower of love, the mercy-seat of the Most High God, the sacred 
tribunal. Those who differ with us and who know only what the 
Confessional is not, may deny it, yet the truth remains; the goodness 
and mercy of God should be extolled rather than despised, accepted 
rather than repudiated, sought rather than rejected. Were we not 
convinced of its divine origin, that it is one of the greatest gifts of 
God to man, and that it is the most beneficial institution to the indi- 
vidual as well as to society, we should not hesitate to pronounce it, 
after the example of our separated brethren, an innovation of 
capricious man. Yes, heart and hand and tongue would unite to 
condemn the Confessional had it not the sanction and power claimed 
for it by the Catholic Church. Who can gainsay it? Whatever 
Sacred Scripture, tradition and reason concur to pronounce of divine 
origin should be so regarded. But Sacred Scripture, tradition and 
reason concur, as we shall see in the sequel, to pronounce the sacra- 
ment of penance, or the Confessional, of divine origin; therefore it 
should be so regarded. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



CHAPTER IV. 

NO ONE ON EARTH CAN PERFORM A MIRACLE; NEITHER CAN ANYONE 
FORGIVE SIN BY HIS OWN POWER OR PRIVATE AUTHORITY. 
— BUT CHRIST HAD THE POWER AND WILLED IT 
AND ACTUALLY CONFERRED UPON HIS 
CHURCH THE POWER TO FOR- 
GIVE SINS. 

It is true that the power of forgiving - sins belongs to God alone, 
as the power of working miracles belongs to Him only. Hence no one 
on earth has ever or will ever perform a miracle; neither has anyone 
ever nor will anyone ever absolve from sin by his own power or pri- 
vate authority. But God has been often pleased to communicate to 
men, as His instruments, the power of working many miracles. He 
made Moses, Elias and Elicius in the Old Law, and the Sts. Peter ? 
Paul and John in the New Law, the instruments of His power to raise 
the dead to life and perform a great number of stupendous miracles, 
Can He not in a like manner empower the pastors of His church, as 
His instruments, to absolve those who are truly repentant? Can He 
not do that which men in the world have the power to do and actu- 
ally do every day with regard to their fellow man, namely, depute 
some one to pronounce absolution or forgiveness on certain conditions 
for a fault committed? When there is question of sins against 
God who can question it? He can depute man to pardon in His 
name and by His authority, if He have the power, if He so willed it, 
and if, having the power and will, He so conferred it. Firstly, as to 
the power, no one can deny it, as there is question of offences against 
Himself, and certainly God can do, as we have seen, what men are 
doing daily in behalf of their fellowmen who may have offended 
them. Secondly, He willed it, for he promised solemnly this power 
to his apostles and their successors, as is evident from the following 
words: "Amen, I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, 
shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon 
earth, shall be loosed also in heaven." * The same promise He 
made at another time to St. Peter,:" And I say to thee that thou art 
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell 

*Matt. 18 : 18. 



10. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the 
Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, 
It shall be bound also in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose 
on earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven."* Thirdly, He did confer 
the power. The foregoing promises were fulfilled by our divine 
ILord after His resurrection; for, as we read in the gospel, He ap- 
peared to His apostles and, standing in their midst, breathed upon 
them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost . . whose sins you shall 
forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they 
are retained." 1 !* That Christ really did impart this power is evident, 
too, from the very commission to His apostles, "As the father 
fiath sent me so I also send you;" J that is, I invest you with the same 
power and authority with which I am invested, and consequently 
with the power and authority of absolving and forgiving sins. Let us 
see what power Jesus Christ had: ''All power is givt n me in heav- 
en and on earth." § Now, in th ; s "all power" must be included, as 
is evident, the power of absolving and forgiving sin; but He sends His 
apostles, as He himself was sent, with "all power," and therefore with 
the power of absolving and forgiving sins. This power could not 
cease with the apostles; for, as sin will last to the end jf the world, 
so it was necessary that a means to remit the same should be lefi to 
the pastors of the church till the end of time. From the verv nature 
of the institution this is evident, because penance is a sacrament. 
It was instituted by Christ, who promises grace, and it has external 
signs, and consequently is a ^acrsment and as lasting as the church 
itself. 

*Matt. 16 : 18. tJohn 20 : 22. JSt. John 20 : 21. §Matt. 28 : 18. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



11 



CHAPTER V. 

CHRIST ACTUALLY IMPOSED AN OBLIGATION ON THE FAITHFUL TO CON- 
FESS THEIR SINS IN ORDER TO HAVE THEM REMITTED OR 

RETAINED. 

Since Jesus Christ his invested the pastors of his Church with 
the power of binding- and loosing, of remitting and retaining sins, ac- 
cording to the merits of the cause and the dispositions of the penitent,, 
it follows as a necessary consequence that He also laid an obligation 
on the faithful to declare their sins in order to have them remitted 
or retained; for otherwise, how could the pastors of the church be 
able to execute this divine commission or exercise the power given 
them? How can this commission be exercised if the sinner be not 
under the obligation of laying open'the true state of his soul by a 
candid confession? Some sinners are to be forgiven and others are 
not; how shall the priest know whether to absolve or retain? God 
reserves to Himself the intuitive knowledge of the heart; hence, if 
the priest is to judge the penitent must bear witness. Now. unless 
the priest judge he can neither forgive nor retain; but he is appoint- 
ed to forgive and retain, hence he must judge who are worth\ and. 
who are unworthy, and for this the confession of the sinner is neces- 
sary. Was it to no purpose that our Lord gave the Church the keys 
of the Kingdom of Heaven? Why should the pastors of the Church 
hold the keys if the sinner can open for himself? Why should a judge 
have power and jurisdiction if the culprit can, by his own individual 
efforts, become reconciled? It would be unreasonable and to no 
purpose to invest a judge with power which he could not exercise and 
with jurisdiction which in practice counts for naught. Equally un 
reasonable and to no purpose would it be to invest the Church w'vh 
a power in virtue of which its pastors have power and jurisdiction to 
bind and loose, to remit and retain. In view of what has been said 
above, Christ has communicated such power and jurisdiction; but the 
act is unreasonable and to no purpose if it cannot be used. Who,, 
believing in Christianity, can subscribe to such a conclusion? Fur- 
thermore, if He have given the power of absolving and retaining sins 
to the Church to no purpose, he has not acted reasonably; he has not 
spoken the truth; he has deceived us; he is not the Son of the living- 



12. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



God; we are free to live and die in sin without any serious con- 
sequence. Who will endorse this! As we have seen, the Church 
lias power to bind and loose, in virtue of which the priest is the 
spiritual judge. But how shall he judge without knowing the cause? 
How shall he hear the cause but from the accusations of the peni- 
tent? The priest is the physician of the soul, but how shall he pre- 
scribe a remedy without knowing the malady? Surely a judge must 
hive a full knowledge of the cause and a physician must know the 
disorder, the one to pronounce a just sentence and the other to pre- 
scribe a suitable remedy. 

Again, if Christ merely said, "Whose sins you sha'l forgive, 
they are forgiven," the pastors of the church could forgive sins without 
confession; but Christ adds, "Whose sins you shall retain they are re- 
tained." Hence it follows t hat the power conferred is a discretionary 
one which neither priest, bishop, pope nor apostle could have exercis- 
ed prudently and justly except on the thorough knowledge of the con- 
science of the penitent. But this cannot be acquired otherwise than 
by the confession of the penitents. Absolution or denial of the . c ame 
should and must follow from the nature of the case, but, as this can- 
not be ascertained except from the mouth of the penitent, it follows 
as a consequence that confession is necessary. 

*Ingalls, Globe-Democrat, April 9tli, '93. 




THE CONFESSIONAL. 



13. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH BEAR TESTIMONY TO AND PROVE THE NE* 
CESSTY OF AURICULAR CONFESSION. — THE SACRED TRIBUNAL 
HARMONIZES WITH THE PI AN OF THE CHURCIl's ARCHI 

TECT. 

St. Augustine says, "To pretend that it is sufficient to con- 
fess to God alone is to destroy the commission of Christ, to con- 
tradict the gospel and to make void the power of the keys which 
were given to the Church." Speaking on the subject in another place, 
and as if anticipating the objections of the reformers, the same saint 
says, "If you wish to have heaven open to thee, open thy mouth in 
confession to the priest." ''Whosoever is ashamed," says St. John 
Chrysostom, "to declare his sins and will not confess them, he shall be 
confounded on the day of judgment in the face of the whole world. '* 
St. Chrysostom says, moreover, ''Penance compels the sinner will- 
ingly to undergo all things; in his heart is contrition; on his lips con- 
fession, and in his deed all humility or a fruitful satisfaction."* This 
is also the teaching of St. Jerome. "If," says the holy doctor, "the sick 
man is ashamed to discover the wounds of his soul to the physician, 
he cannot be cured." St. Ambrose says in his book on penance, when 
refuting the heresy of the Novatians, who asserted that lo the Lord 
alone was reserved the power of forgiving sins, "Who reveres God 
more, he who obeys or he who resists His commands? God com- 
mands us to obey His ministers, whom, when we obey give honor 
to God alone." Again the same holy doctor says, "Without the 
confession of sin no man can be justified from sin." 

St. Cyprian, in his sermon on the lapsed, very explicitly teach- 
es that those who, '-sorrowfully and simply confessing that same 
(thought) to the priests of God, make the disclosure of their con- 
science, expose the burden of their soul, seek a salutary medicine 
for their wounds." Finally, such is the unanimous and concurring 
voice and testimony ot all the Fathers and Doctors of the Church 
regarding confession. 

The institution of the tribunal of penance is in accordance 

*Sermon II of the Words of the Lord. 



14. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



with the entire structure of our holy religion. It harmonizes with 
the general plan of her Divine Architect, as is ev'dent ty comparing 
it with other portions of that sacred edifice raised by the hand of 
God. Before the star of hope floated on the breath of a Judsean 
morning, before the angelic messengers announced the coming of the 
Messiah, and before the kings offered their regal gifts at the 
crib of Bethlehem, a design had been sketched, a plan had been pen- 
ciled, an edifice was to be raised, whose vast proportions were to be 
commensurate with the earth and whose golden dome was to pene- 
trate heaven itself. Years rolled on and centuries glided into the 
past, during which men and angels could not interpret the mystic 
design till it pleased Jesus Christ to utter these joyous words, "Thou 
art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it." "And Jesus coming spoke to them 
saying: 'All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Go, 
therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to 
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and behold I 
am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.'"* 
Now the mystery is unraveled, the darkness is dispelled, the mystic 
design is none other than the Church of Jesus Christ. But how did 
He institute it? Our divine Lord forms the College of the Apostles. 
He teaches His heaven-sent doctrine to humble fishermen. In pro- 
cess of time He commands them to go forth and promulgate the 
Gospel. Their mission is to preach the truths they had heard 
throughout the entire world, and He imposes an obligation on all 
men of hearing them under pain of losing their salvation. ''He that 
heareth you," says Christ, "heareth me; and he that despiseth you 
despiseth me, and he that despiseth me despiseth Him that sent 
me."f Thus He constituted them and their successors the infallible 
authority from whom we are bound to receive doctrines; the teach- 
ers whom we are obliged to hear and follow. This is precisely the 
course He adopts in instituting the sacred tribunal of confession. 
He does not leave the manner ot atoning for sin to the capricious 
will of every individual sinner. He does not make each person the 
judge of what are the necessary conditions for an efficacious repent- 

*Matt. 28 : 18-20. +Luke 10 : 16. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



15 



ance or cf the means of reconciliation after turning his back on 
God by mortal sin. No, He institutes a ministry whose duty it is 
to examine the dispositions of each individual sinner, and He confers 
on it the power to remit or retain the sins of the culprit, accordingto 
his dispositions. Thus we can easily perceive that in the sacred 
tribunal Christ has precluded the evil of self delusion by appointing 
an impartial judge. He has furnished us with a physician in our 
sickness, an advisor in our difficulties, an instructor in our ignorance, 
a director of our whole conduct and a peace-maker to reconcile pen- 
itent man to an offended God. 



16. THE CONFESSIONAL. 

CHAPTER VII. 

ADVANTAGES OF THE CONFESSIONAL. ROUSSEAU'S AND VOLTAIRE'S 

ADMISSIONS. 

The confessional restores us to the grace and friendship of 
God and unites us to Him as a friend to a friend. The reconciliation 
with God is followed with spiritual delight, peace and tranquility in 
the souls of those who devoutly and piously approach the sacred 
tribunal, placing all the necessary conditions, and bringing thereto all 
the dispositions becoming a true penitent. What a hopeful thought! 
All the sins which separate the soul from God are wiped out and for- 
gotten. Hence the prophet says, ''If the wicked do penance for 
all his sins which he hath committed, and keep all my command- 
ments, and do judgment and justice living, he shall live and not die; 
and I will not remember all his iniquities which he hath done."* St. 
John, the beloved apostle of Jesus Christ, speaking on the same sub- 
ject, says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 
us our sins."^ And again the same apostle adds, ''If any man sin 
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just; and He 
is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for 
those of the whole world. "J It is worthy of note that philosophers 
who had little or no regard for the Christian religion are loud in 
praise of the benefits accruing to society from the Confessional. 
"How many restitutions and reparations," says Rousseau, '-does not 
confession produce?"§ Voltaire is frank enough to admit that "Con- 
fession is a most excellent expedient — a bridle to guilt, invented in 
the remotest antiquity; it was practiced at the celebration of all the 
ancient mysteries. We have imitated and sanctified this wise cus- 
tom which has a great influence in prevailing on hearts burning with 
resentment to forgive one another. "j| Is it any wonder that the 
sinner who refuses to believe in this institution sinks into despair? 
To whom can he unbosom himself? Probably to a friend. But he 
knows, perhaps, to his sorrow that he cannot rely on the friendship 
of man. It has been well said, Will he make the desert his confidant? 
The desert would incessantly reverberate in the guilty ear the sound 
of those trumpets which Nero fancied he heard around the tomb 

*Ezech. 18 : 21-22. tl. Ep. John 1 : 9. }I. Ep. John 2 : 1. §Aemil. Vol. 3, Page 201. 
1 Guest Ency., Vol. 3, Page 234. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



17. 



of his mother. * Since our fellow-men and nature itself are mer- 
ciless, is it not consoling that God is willing to embrace all to His 
loving bosom? "Wash yourself; be clean; take away the evil of your 
devices from my eyes; cease to do perversely; learn to do well; seek 
judgment; relieve the oppressed; judge for the fatherless; defend the 
widow. And then come and accuse me," saith the Lord, ''if your sins 
be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow; and if they be 
as red as crimson, they shall be white as wool." f What words of 
mercy! What consolation to the outcast and sinner of good will! 
What benefits must not accrue to him who, Magdalene-like, ap- 
proaches the mercy-seat wherein innocence and repentance are made 
twin sisters! The Council of Trent declared that "to those who 
have fallen after baptism, the sacrament of penance is as necessary 
for salvation as baptism is to those who have not been already re- 
generated." J St Jerome calles it "a second plank." § 

*Tacit. tlsa. 1 : 16 Et Seq. JSess. XIV. §Ep. 84. 



18. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ADTANTAGES OF THE CONFESSIONAL (CONTINUED.) — CARDINAL NEW- 

man's TESTIMONY. 

The cancelling of sins, then, is the object and end of the Con- 
cessional and no one can hope for pardon who despises this salutary 
institution and refuses to take advantage of it; hence, we read, "Un- 
less you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish." * While it is 
true that lighter sins may and are forgiven otherwise than by directly 
submitting them to the keys of the Church, yet some kind of penance 
is required. "If without penance venial sins could be remitted, the 
daily penance performed for them by the Church would be to no 
purpose." f The Confessional, above all other institutions of Christ, 
brings home to every man the lull and entire responsibility of 
doing works of penance, not only for mortal, but also for venial sins. 
It suggests and points out the obligation of doing penance for all 
offences against God. It mirrors to every soul the deformity of sin 
and the necessity of repenting for each and every one. The Con- 
fessional creates fidelity and strengthens it, creates honesty ard en- 
forces it, creates purity and preserves it, creates charity and inflames 
it. That vow of fidelity made at the altar between two loving and 
confiding hearts is preserved, despite the danger to conjugal affec- 
tions and even of divorce, by the Confessional. The public servant 
is enabled amidst the difficulties and temptations of court Lfe to keep 
his solemn oath by means of the Confessional. The master is not 
afraid to trust the keys of his cellar and safe to the Catholic servant, 
and the merchant his valuable wares to the practical Catholic clerk, 
and the banker his gold to his cashier who goes regularly to Con- 
fession. In virtue of the Confessional those angels of mercy, those 
white-robed daughters of the Church, those consecrated virgins of 
the Most High, are enabled to persevere, keep their vows and prose- 
cute their works of charity in favor of the fatherless waif, the neg- 
lected consumptive nearing the brink of an early grave because, per- 
haps, of an ill spent life, districts breathing infection and death, and 
the dying soldier, whose mother, hundreds of miles away, is hope- 
fully praying on bended knees that the God ot battles may give 

*Luke 13 : 3. tSt. Aug., Book 50. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



19. 



courage to his heart, strength to his arms and victory to his sword. 
Those priests and monks who sever family ties, quit a home of lux- 
ury and bid a Listing adieu, perhaps, to high position in the world to 
embrace a life of hardship, self-abnegation and labor unrequited in this 
world, know full well their religious life would be of short duration 
were it not for the weekly confession. Ch irity of the martyrs, love of 
the confessors and the ardor of the virgins were enkindled and fanned 
into wondrous flames, whose dazzling light illumine and attract an awe- 
stricken world, — simply the product of frequent worthy confessions. 
The Confessional raises the soul from its lethargy to a wakeful re- 
membrance of God. When the cold sweat gathers fast upon the 
brow and the night of death begins to cast its shadows on the once 
bright eyes, when the religion (?) of health and wealth can offer no 
assistance, it is the Confessional alone that gives hope to the dying 
soul. Whence comes it that the loving husband, so soon to be 
torn from the wife of his bosom, bears the coming separation with 
such calmness and patience! Whence does it come that the faith- 
ful wife, soon to be visited by the angel of death, can bid her hus- 
band a last fond farewell without emotion! Whence comes it that 
the fond mother can call her children around her dying bed and give 
them one after another her advice and blessing with seeming indif- 
ference — a mother, who, during long years of trials and hardships, 
loved her dear ones with more than ordinary mother's love! Whence 
can that sinner, so lately driven to the verge of despair by remorse 
of conscience, derive such peace and tranquillity when he has seen 
his companions in fortune shipwrecked, in pleasure unsatisfied and 
in life disappointed, seek relief in the surging waves, in the bottle 
labeled with the skull and cross bones, in the discharge of a firearm! 
The answer is expressed in one word, the Confessioi al. Were ev- 
eryone to make use of this divine institution aright, there would be 
no more heart-breaking, no more despair, no more fruitless tears, no 
more suicides, no more terrible records of robberies and murders, no 
more mothers hardening their hearts and making themselves worse 
than the most ferocious animals, no more of that cool, calculating 
dishonesty, no mo- e men casting their wiles about each other like 
spider's webs to entrap and deceive, no more unfaithful husband?., 
no more disobedient children, no more lawbreakers and disloyal cit- 



20. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



izens, no more quarrels, revenge, wars and sacrifice of millions to 
the pride of heartless, regal tyrants, no more Catholics who are a 
scandal to their neighbors, a disgrace to the name, perjurers to their 
sacramental vows and traitors to the cause they are in duty bound 
to uphold. There would be an end of misery in the world; all 
would be peace and happiness if everyone would recognize this, one 
of the greatest gifts of God to men, open his festering wounds and 
allow the Salt of Penance to cleanse, purify and fit him for his des- 
tiny. In fine, the Confessional is the savior of the moral man and 
also the savior of the physical man. Speaking of the influence and 
advantage of the Confessional, Cardinal Newman makes use of the 
following beautiful words: "How many are the souls in distress, 
anxiety or loneliness, where the one need is to find a being to whom 
they can pour out their feelings unheard by the world? Tell them 
out they must. They cannot tell them out to those whom they see 
every hour; they want to tell them and not to tell them. And they 
want to tell out, and yet be as if they were not told; they wish to 
tell them, yet are not strong enough to despite them; they wish to 
tell them to one who can at once advise and sympathize with them; 
they wish to relieve themselves of a load in order to gain a solace, 
to receive the assurance that there is one who thinks of them and 
one to whom in thought they can recur, to whom they can betake 
themselves, if necessary, from time to time while they are i ih j 
world. How many a Protestant heart would leap at the news of 
such a benefit, putting aside all ideas of sacramental ordinances al- 
together! If there is a heavenly idea in the Catholic Church — look- 
ing at it simply as an idea — surely, next after the Blessed Sacra- 
ment, confession is such. And such it is ever found; in fact, the very 
act of kneeling, the low and contrite voice, the sign of the cross 
hanging, so to say, over the head bowed low, and the words of peace 
and blessing — oh, what a soothing charm is there, which the world 
can neither give nor take away! Oh, what a piercing, heart-subduing 
tranquillity, provoking tears of joy, is poured almost substantially 
and physically upon the soul — the oil of gladness as the Scripture 
calls it — when the penitent at length ri^es, his God reconciled to 
him, his sins rolled away forever! This is confession as it is in fact, 
as those who bear witness to it know by experience." 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



21. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE CONFESSIONAL IS THE CIVJLIZER OF MAN AND CONSERVATOR OF 

HIS MORALS. A GLANCE AT ROMAN SO-CALLED CIVILIZATION 

WITHOUT THE CONFESSIONAL. 

A discussion of the question which forms the title and an ap- 
preciation of what the Confessional has really done for mankind can- 
not be better brought to light than by presenting a few pages of 
history. We quote only those facts which cannot be controverted, 
at least by those even a little conversant with history. Augustus arose 
to imperial power and preserved the same by the commission of 
crime. His reign, while one of peace, was also distinguished by cor- 
ruption. Tiberius rejoiced to find the Roman people and Senate 
below him in baseness. Rome loved and honored, yes deified, Nero. 
The Decemvirs gloried in debasing Rome. Marius took delight in 
shedding the blood of the nobles and Sylla that of the plebians. 
Catiline's followers bound themselves to murder their own fathers 
and ruin all that opposed their nefarious conspiracy. * Augustus 
commands a father and son to kill each other and the inhuman or- 
der is obeyed, f The tyrant Nero is worshipped as a god and has 
his temples, his altars and sacrifices. Claudian, the minister of Sev- 
erus, having married his daughter to the eldest son of the Emperor, 
caused one hundred freemen of Rome, some of whom were husbands 
and fathers of families, to be mutilated "in order that his daughter 
might have a retinue of eunichs worthy of an eastern queen." J Ca- 
to gives his wife Marcia to Hortensius and after the death of the lat- 
ter, for the sake of fortune, takes her back. Cicero banishes Terentia 
for the purpose of marrying his servant, Publia. Seneca says that 
there were women who no longer counted their years by consuls but 
by the number of their husbands. Nero instituted the Juvenalian 
feasts where senators and ladies of the first rank were obliged to ap- 
pear on the stage, after the example of the Emperor, and to sing ob- 
scene songs, at the same time imitating the gestures of the clowns. 
Gladiators, musicians and courtesans perfectly nude mingled with 
the most illustrious senators and foremost ladies of Rome at some of 
their banquets. What depravity ! The slaves who cultivated the 
fields were chained by the foot and only allowed a little bread with 

*Sallust, Cat. Cons. tSuet. JDion., Book 76. 



22. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



salt and water as nourishment. Caligula wished that the whole 
Roman people had but one head that he might strike it off with but 
a single blow.* Titus celebrated his father's birthday by having 
three thousand Jews devoured by wild beasts.-j* The mere suspicion 
of the Emperor was enough to have ?n edict go forth to slaughter 
five, ten, twenty thousand persons of all rank, of both sexes and of 
every age. J During the reign of Claudius no fewer than nineteen 
thousand slaughtered one another, after first addressing the Emperor, 
"Hail, Caesar! they who are about to die salute thee," for the amuse- 
ment of the Roman populace. Strange to say, Tacitus calls this a 
fine sight. Other and more disgusting examples might be deduced 
from the history of pagan nations, but let these, from the foremost 
nation in letters and in conquest, suffice. What could save the hu- 
man race from this new deluge and elevate its morals? Certainly 
not the priests of Flora, Venus and Bacchus. Polytheism did not and 
could not conserve the morals; its votaries, on the contrary, added 
to the momentum of their downward course. Destruction was in 
store for a people of such morals. Attila and Alaric would have 
carried out their well planned campaign and all but successful de- 
signs against Rome in the face of the united protest of the pagan 
pontiffs. The true religion had a power to resist the foe and to 
gather the fragments scattered, divided and sub-divided by polythe- 
ism into one grand society, noted for its morality, its laws and its 
government. That star of Bethlehem, which attracted the untutored 
shepherds of old to the crib, has advanced to meridian splendor to 
show the peoples of the earth the power of a doctrine which has lib- 
erated the slave, converted and mollified the savage, inspired hope 
and saved the human race from vices worse perhaps than those 
chronicled by the historians of boasted pagan Rome. 
*Suet. tJoseph.us de Bell, Jud. lib. VII. t'facit., Book 15. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



23. 



CHAPTER X. 

CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT THE CONFESSIONAL HAS NOT AND COULD NOT 

CIVILIZE A SINGLE TRIBE, PEOPLE OR NATION. CHRISTIANITY 

WITHOUT THE CONFESSIONAL BREEDS CONTEMPT OF THE 
WORDS OF GOD, OF THE SACRAMENTS, OF THE CLERGY, 
OF CHURCH AND SCHOOL, ACCORDING TO MARTIN 
LUTHER HIMSELF. 

Christianity without the Confessional could not have con- 
verted the world. Christianity without the Confessional has never 
converted and will never convert a single tribe, or people, or nation- 
It may pervert but never convert. I may make heretics and schis- 
matics but never a Christian nation. Such is the loud voice of his- 
tory in favor of what has just been said. Our modern sociologists 
are discussing vexed questions regarding the evils which affect soci- 
ety and threaten its very existence. They are casting around for 
a solution. They are asking each other what influence shall be 
brought to bear on human nature to control passion, to restrain sel- 
fishness, to promote honesty, to encourage benevolence, to extend 
charity and to inculcate brotherly love. It seems the question is 
not difficult to solve. In the light of history, which is the Chris- 
tian nation that is the more moral, the nation that acknowledges 
the Confessional as a divine institution, or the nation that repudi- 
ates it as the invention of priests and monks? In proof of our 
position and as a suggestion of the answer to the question just pro- 
pounded in all fairness to Piotestants, who no doubt hold a differ- 
ent opinion, we will take as an example that country where the 
Reformation first made its appearance, and the words of Martin 
Luther himself, leaving the careful, conscientious reader who is 
open to conviction to judge for himself. Dr. Luther candidly says, 
"The security among the poor people is now so great, that they 
laugh at the preachers." "The time will come," he adds, "when 
they will say, 'You are a fool; why do you care much about a ser- 
mon?' "* "Peasants and nobles know the Gospel better than St. 
Paul or Dr. M. Luther; they are wise and they think themselves 

*Erlanger Ausgabe l : 103-1 4. 



24. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



better than all their clergv."* "Peasants, citizens and nobles 

boast that they do not want any preacher . . . and 
would not give a penny for any number of sermons. "-f- "A poor 
village parson is now the most despised man of all, ... so 
that there is no peasant who does not . . . trample him under 
foot. "J "It seems as if the world was determined to starve the 
ministers of the Gospel to death. "§ The preachers of the new 
Gospel come in for the following condemnation from their leader, 
Luther: "They lead such a bad life . . that they do more harm 
than good. "|| People have now so little esteem for the holy sac- 
rament of the body and blood of our Lord. . . . it is as if there 
was nothing on earth that they were less in want of."^j "Formerly, 
under the Pope, when we were forced and urged to receive the Sac- 
rament, we went in crowds . . . now . . . our behaviour 
towards it is as disgusting and shameless that it is as if we were not 
human beings (still less Christians) but only sticks and stones, that 
stand in no need of It." I "Under the Pope . . . people were 
very fervent in building churches. . . Now that the true religion 
is taught, and that the people are properly instructed concerning 
good works, everybody is cold, so much so that we cannot help be- 
ing surprised at it. "2 "Formerly, they could build convents and 
churches, with an outlay which was quite unnecessary; now they 
cannot repair a hole in the roof in order that the clergymen may be 
protected from the wet. "3 "Tell me where is there a town at pres- 
ent with sufficient means and piety, to contribute enough for the 
support of a schoolmaster or a clergyman?"4 "Such is the fate of 
the beloved Gospel; when it is preached, nobody is willing to give 
anything toward feeding and supporting the persons who ought to 
take charge of the pulpit and schools. "5 "Formerly, when we serv- 
ed the devil, . . . all purses were open and there was no meas- 
ure in giving to churches and schools. But now that the pioper 
kind of schools and the proper kind of churches are to be built, nay, 
not built, but only preserved as they now stand, ... all purses 
are bound up with iron chains. "6 "According to its size every town 
could formerly support with ease several convents, . . , now 

*Walcli X' V, i860. tErlanger Misgabe 51, 188. JWalcli V, 577. §Waleli VI, 967 
IIEpp. Ed Aurifabe, IT, 191. TWalch X, 2666. lWalch X, 2715. 2Walch VI, 1211. 3Walch 
XIII, 8. 4Walch XI, 2522. 5Walcll VIII, 2831. 6Walch X, 530. 



THE CONFESSION A.L. 



25. 



that in one town two or three persons only are to be supported, who 
preach the Word of God, administer the Sacraments, visit and con- 
sole the poor, instruct the youth, . . . everybody finds that too 
much, although the money has to come, not out of their own pock- 
et, but from the property of others for which we are indebted to 
Popery."* "Our peasants want a Christian liberty that will bring 
them temporal gain, but if on the other hand they give a penny to 
their clergyman, or do the least thing for the Gospel, even the devil 
cannot make them stir."j- 

♦Walch XI, 1758. tWalch XIII, 89. 



26. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



CHAPTER XI. 

CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT THE CONFESSIONAL BORE THE FOLLOWING 
FRUITS, ACCORDING TO LUTHER'S OWN STATEMENT: NEGLECT OF THE 
POOR AND OF THE SICK; SAD STATE OF THE YOUTH; INCREASE 
OF DRUNKENNESS; INCREASE OF THE NUMBER OF SUICIDES; 
LOWER STATE OF GENERAL MORALITY. 

Luther is authority for it that his followers used to say, "If 
we are not saved on account of our good works why should we give 
alms to the poor?"* "Formerly, under the Pope, people gave very 
largely indeed and beyond measure . . . then they gave in heaps, 
for they looked . . . upon the reward. . . . But now that 
with the light of the Gospel we are told nothing about our merits, 
nobody is willing to give and to help."«|- 

"Formerly, when we served the devil under Popery, every- 
body was merciful and kind; then they gave with both hands, joy- 
fully and with great devotion . . . Now that we ought to be 
merciful, to give willingly and to show ovrselves thankful to God 
for the Holy Gospel, . . . nobody is willing to give but only 
to take.J In 1527 an epidemic broke out in Wittenberg, Luther's 
home. He writes, "The pest has broken out here, but in rather a 
mild form; however, the fear and flight of the people is something 
dreadful."§ Disease broke out again in the same town in 1539 and 
Luther, writing to Wenceslaus Link, says, "One person runs away 
from the other so that you cannot find . . . a servant. I think 
the devil must have taken possession of the people with the real 
pestilence, to fill them with such terrible fear that the brother for- 
sakes his brother and the son his parents. "|| "I am astonished, that 
the more we preach about the life in Christ, the greater the terror 
of death becomes among the people. "IT "It is a shame how badly 
we now bring up our children. . . . Parents allow their chil- 
dren to please themselves . . . mothers do not look after their 
daughters, ... do not punish them, do not teach them to lead 
a modest and chaste life." 1 "Everywhere . . . complaints are 
made about the disobedience, lawlessness and pride of the young 
people. "2 Luther admits that drunkenness "has spread among the 

*Walch VIII 2683. tWalch VIII, 946-947. JWalch XI, 1758. §Epp Ed Aurif. II, 345. 
HDe Wette V, 219. IWalch XXI, 1461. lWalch XI, 3095. SWalch XII, 895. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



27. 



youth ... so that now the greater part of the finest, most 
talented young men (especially among the nobility and at court) 
undermine their health, their body and their life . . . before 
the time."* Speaking on the same subject Luther says, "I remem- 
ber when I was young what a very great shame this was considered 
to be among the nobility. "t "We have now got so far that coarse 
vices, excessive drinking and rioting are no longer looked upon as 
a disgrace, but . . . drunkenness must now be called hilarity. "J 
"Drunkenness has now, I am sorry to say, come down upon us like a 
deluge. "§ "The people . . . look upon the Gospel as a doctrine 
. . . which teaches them to eat and drink. Such are the thoughts 
of almost everybody, from the lowest to the highest. "T "The people 
are like pigs, so to speak, dead and buried in constant drunkenness. "|i 
"What you write concerning the power that the devil has shown 
in the case of three men who have hanged themselves, I have read 
with fear, my Anthony. God gives us, ungrateful and arro- 
gant creatures, a foretaste of his future anger, by conceding so 
much to Satan in our Church. . . . He (Satan) is the prince of 
the world; in order to bring us into contempt he pretends that 
those men hanged themselves, whereas he killed them, and, by 
working on' their imagination, made them believe they had hanged 
themslelves. . . . Satan's presence is visible. "i "As soon as 
our Gospel began . . . decency . . . and modesty were 
done away with, and everybody wished to be perfectly free to do 
whatever he liked. "2 "We deserve that our Evangelicals (the fol- 
lowers of the new gospel) should now be seven times worse than 
they were before. Because after having learned the Gospel, we 
steal, tell lies, deceive, eat and drink (to excess) and practice all 
manner of vices. "3 After one devil (Popery) has been driven out 
of us, seven worse ones have come down upon us, as is the case 
with princes, lords, nobles, citizens and peasants. "4 "In all classes 
frivolity and every kind of vice, sin and disgrace are now much 
greater than formerly."5 "I think it must needs be the case, that 
those who follow the Gospel (literally, 'who become evangelical') 
should be worse after receiving the Gospel than they had been be- 

*Walch XII, 790. tWalchXII. JWalch XIII, 1572. §Waloh XII, 7*8. ||Walch 
XII, 789. IWalch VII, 1896. lDe Wette V, 487-488. 2Walcli V, 114. 3Walch III, 2727. 
4Walch III, 2727. 5Walcli V, 114. 



28. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



fore, not on account of the Gospel but on account of the people 
who abuse the Gospel."* "The more the and longer we preach, 
the worse matters grow."f "People are now possessed with seven 
devils, whereas formerly they were possessed with one devil; the 
devil now enters into the people in crowds, so that men are now 
more avaricious, unmerciful, impure, insolent than formerly under 
the Pope."|' "After the dominion and power of the Pope has ceased 
and the people, while despising true doctrine, are now 
changed into mere irrational animals and beasts; the number of 
holy and pious teachers becomes constantly less."§ About a year 
before Luther cut the thread of life he admits; "We are living in 
Sodom and Babylon. . . . everything is daily getting worse. "|| A 
few months before his death Luther wrote to his wife regarding his 
own town wherein he so actively engaged himself in the preaching 
of the Gospel: "Away from this town (Wittenberg) ... I will 
wander about and sooner beg my bread than allow my poor old last 
days to be martyred and upset with the disorder of Wittenberg."l[ 
Luther confesses that he never would have preached had he fore- 
seen the bad results. "See how foolish," says he, "the people every- 
where behave towards the Gospel, so that I scarcely know whether 
I ought to continue preaching or not."i "If God had not closed my 
eyes, and if I had foreseen these scandals, I would never have be- 
gun to teach the Gospel. "2 More than twenty years after the 
Reformation Luther admitted: "Who would have begun to preach 
if we had known beforehand that so much unhappiness, tumult, 
scandal, blasphemy, ingratitude and wickedness would have been 
the result?"3 Luther himself did not become better by his new 
Gospel. "I confess," he says, "that I am much more negligent than 
I was under the Pope, and there is now nowhere such an amount of 
earnestness under the Gospel as was formerly seen among the 
monks and priests. "4 Thoughtful reader, had the confessional still 
exercised its benign influence on society, think you, could the 
morals of the people take such a downward course as that confessed 
by the father of the Reformation? 

*Walch XIII, 219.3. tWalch XII, 2120. }Walch XIII, 1\ §Walcli I, 615. ||De 
WetteV,722. IDe Wette V, 753. lWalch XI, 3052. 2Walch VI, 920. 3Walch VIII, 564, 
4Walcli IX, 1311. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



29. 



CHAPTER XII. 

TITE UNITED WISDOM OF MAN HAS NEVER AND CAN NEVER DISCOVER A 
BETTER MEDICINE FOR THE ILLS OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND SO- 
CIETY THAN THE CONFESSIONAL. — IT MAKES GOOD 
CHRISTIANS AND GOOD CITIZENS. 

The thoughtful, earnest sociologist and the humanitarian are 
unceasing in their efforts to find a remedy for the evils which 
threaten society. Some claim that legislators and officers of the 
law can do much if they would to bring about a better state of af- 
fairs. But this cannot be so to any great extent, for no man or 
number of men can legislate the dishonest honest, the intemperate 
temperate, the impure pure, and the officers of the law, however vig- 
ilant, are as unsuccessful. So-called preachers of the gospel attrib- 
ute great efficacy to revival meetings. That semblance of penance, 
piety or whatever else it is called, is short lived. Converts soon 
forget the mourners' bench and the restraints of religion, if re- 
restraints they can be called, in the hum of business, companion- 
ship of associates and the enjoyment of passions. Even our mis- 
sions so often preached with such fervor and zeal, would bear but 
little fruit were it not for the Confessional. To them the united 
efforts of pastor and missionary may bring large crowds of seeming- 
ly earnest hearers; yes, every one, bad and good, in the parish may 
come and go daily, but what will bring to a sense of duty that 
strong, robust young man whose passions grow with his growth 
and whose frequent indulgence only strengthens them; but what 
will stop for more than a time that youthful desire for parties of 
pleasure, that depraved taste for voluptuous music, that tendency 
to vulgarity and that developing of the lower nature at that most 
dangerous time when youth is budding into manhood and woman- 
hood; but what will change the heart of that hoary-haired father 
whose life has been spent in worldly pursuits to the prejudice of his 
own and his children's souls, whose views on education, reduced to 
practice, only make disobedient, undutiful and irreligious sons and 
daughters? Upon the mass of people (and for the time being only) 
is the spark of faith stirred up and fanned by powerful and elo- 
quent sermons on the great truths of religion so that the light re- 
veals the deformity of a heart hardened by vice and crime and sin. 



30. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



Resolutions of leading a better life are usually formed, but what 
makes those resolutions Prodigal-Son-like, what makes them effica- 
cious, what makes them the turning point perhaps of life? It is the 
Confessional. Were it not for this our best missions would produce 
little more fruit than the revival. The united wisdom of man can- 
not provide a remedy so efficacious, a balm so healing, a medicine 
so sanative for the ills of man and society as the Confessional. 
Here the penitent on bended knees, after having previously ex- 
amined himself on the commandments of God, the precepts of the 
church, the deadly sins, his predominant passions and the duties of 
his state, lays open the true condition of his soul by a candid con- 
fession. Here courage begotten of grace, faith in the supernatural, 
a heart softened by contrition, rebellious nature brought under 
subjection, pride dethroned and humility exalted, the eyes, the lips, 
the tongue, in fact, the whole demeanor indicates an extraordinary 
change of heart. Here, conscious that his confession is useless ex- 
cept contrition is heartfelt, the penitent, by the assistance of God's 
grace raises the gloomy veil that shrouded his heart from the Con- 
fessor, determined to do and suffer everything in atonement of his 
sins; if needs be, reparation of his neighbor's goods or character is 
determined on; resolutions strong and efficacious of fidelity to God 
in future, are included in that humble act of contrition; absolution 
follows and the penitent, trusting more in God than in self, goes out 
from the sacred tribunal like a Magdalene of old, with a heart puri- 
fied, clean, and rejoicing to receive the Bread of Life, to strengthen 
his good resolution and enable him to lead a new life. There is no 
other means given to man of improving his manners and elevating 
his morals like that of the Confessional. There is no. other power 
on earth competent to control the passions, eradicate selfishness, 
injustice, impurity, disrespect for law and excesses prompted by the 
lower nature of man, than the Confessional. The Confessional 
unites man to God, creates a due appreciation of virtue and abhor- 
rence of vice; convinces man of the necessity of authority and the 
degradation of disobedience. It enshrines charity in the heart and 
expells therefrom base love; it ennobles men and banishes slavery, 
appreciates fidelity and denounces perfidy, and affords strength and 
perseverence on our journey during time to eternity. The Confes- 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



31. 



sional stimulates the practice of those virtues which go to make up 
the character of good Christians and good citizens. It commands 
obedience to the law and respect for the rights of others. It pro- 
motes peace and harmony and good fellowship in the community. 
It controls the conscience, purifies the heart and elevates the soul. 
There is no good, practical Catholic who is not a good citizen, neither 
is there a bad Catholic who can be a good citizen. It is when 
the Catholic forsakes the Confessional that he becomes degen- 
erate and not unfrequently a bad and dangerous citizen. No external 
refinement can compensate for the good offices of the Confes- 
sional, no civilizing influence (as we have seen from the pages of 
Roman history in a previous chapter) has ever equalled that afford- 
ed by the Mercy Seat of God on earth. Leaders of thought may 
propose systems of natural ethics for the betterment of mankind, 
the elevation of his morals and as a remedy against the ills which 
threaten society — all very good in theory, but in practice blank 
failures. One of our great statesmen, after dealing with the short- 
comings and sins of the poor, middle class and rich, in turn, has this 
to say of our rulers and would-be rulers: "The age is not entirely 
free from a suspicion of cast; of whining and hypocritical preten- 
tions in morals, education, art, religion and politics; and of all 
forms of this tiresome disorder there is none so senseless and fa- 
tiguing as the cant of civil service reform. . . . The president of 
the United States should be the best and strongest and purest citi- ' 
zen of the republic. But sometimes he is not. His subordinates 
should be specially qualified above all others by nature and training 
for the duties they are appointed to perform. But they are not. 
Legislators should all be the wisest and most experienced political 
economists of incorruptible integrity. But they are not. Judges 
should be so learned in the law that their decisions would never be 
contested or reversed. But they are not. All citizens should be 
tranquil and prosperious, contented to remain in their several condi- 
tions in life till promoted for merit, after competitive examination, 
on the occurrence of some vacancy in wealth or rank by death or 
resignation. But they are not. 

In the ideal scientific state there would be no defalcations in 
office, no offensive partisanship, no incorrigible spoilsmen filling the 



32. 



THE CONFESSIONAL. 



air with the din of their tumultuous discontent. The courtesy of 
the Senate would disappear. Executive sessions would be abolish- 
ed. Nominating conventions would yield to boards of commission- 
ers, before whom all candidates for the presidency and for Congress 
would appear for examination into their attainments in statecraft. 
Stump oratory would be a lost art. Political campaigns would be 
conducted like Chautauqua circles or Concord schools of Philosophy. 

The torch-light procession, the multitudinous rally, the flar- 
ing bonfire, the voluntary contribution and the campaign lie would 
be seen and heard no more. Government would become strictly 
impersonal. The office would seek the man. The Sermon on the 
Mount would be the platform and the Golden Rule the policy of 
every administration, and the Government would be kept pure, as 
the streets of Jerusalem were kept clean by every man sweeping 
before his own door." * 

Well said, indeed, but an adequate means to to the end is not 
even suggested. It is needless to complain of sickness if we refuse 
to make use of the medicine prescribed by a skilled and successful 
physician. It is folly to complain of cold when we persist in reced- 
ing from the fire. It is silly to complain of hunger and thirst while 
refusing to eat and drink. It is madness to complain of a maladay 
while refusing to use a sure and tried cure. The united wisdom of 
man cannot provide a remedy so efficacious, a means so adequate 
for the ills complained of and which threaten the individual, the 
family and the state, as that which the goodness and mercy of God 
have instituted, and it is folly in the extreme to reject it if we wish 
efficaciously the end. 

It is a delusion and mockery to run counter to the designs 
of God, and the people or nation guilty of this treason have always 
and will always suffer in consequence. Everyone who has studied 
the matter, must turn a deaf ear to mere human speculation and 
admit the wisdom and mercy of God in providing a remedy which 
purifies the heart, cleanses the conscience, humbles pride, eradicates 
selfishness, promotes honesty, guards society against anarchy on the 
one hand and tyranny on the other, elevates morals and refines 
manners, makes men good and useful members of society here and 
prepares and fits them for their eternal destiny hereafter. 

*Ingalls, Globe-Democrat, April 9th, '93, 



PEESS USTOTIOIES. 



"THE CONFESSIONAL, WHAT IT is HOT, AND WHAT IT LS." 
This is a pamphlet issued by the Catholic Educational Society, at Newton, Kansas. Tells 
w hat the Confessional is, and refutes the Protestant protests against it.— The American Catho- 
lic News, New York City. 

"The Confessional, W hat it is not, and What it Is,'' is on our desk. It is by the Educational 
Society, from the office of the School Journal, Newton, Kansas. It is as excellent an exposition of 
this most important subject, condensed into thirty-two pages, as we have met. It is ably com- 
piled, and should have a wide circulation. Price 25 cents.— The Kansas City, Ks., Catholic. 

"THE CONFESSIONAL." 
This is the title of a neat pamphlet just from the press of the Catholic Educational Society of 
this city. It tells what the Confessional is and what it is not, and qoutes freely from the Scrip- 
tures and the greatest minds of all ages to sustain the author's claims, The work is written in a 
masterly style, and indicates that the author has given the subject careful study. Price 25 cents at 
book stores.— Newton Daily Republican. 

"THE CONFESSIONAL. WHAT IT IS NOT, AND WHAT IT IS. " 
The above is the title ol a twelve-chapter pamphlet just published by the Catholid Educa- 
tional Society of this city. Its style and make-up are extremely attractive. The arguments are 
short, sharp and decisive. Those who believe in Scripture and history cannot well help accepting 
its deductions, as they are unquestionably conclusive. It differs from most of its kind in this, 
that the author does not give offense to any one, however much he may differ from him, but 
studies to convince by. cold, logical arguments, which we think is the proper thing. It will repay 
reading and re-reading. Sold by book sellers at 25 cents.— Newton Daily Kansan, 

A BOOKLET. 

* A booklet, just issued from the office of the School Journal, is on our our table, with the 
title "The Confessional." It is handsomely gotten up in pamphlet form, and the mechanical 
work i- neat. It is admirably arranged in chapters, each of which is complete in argument and 
deduction. The arguments are so well put, and authorities quoted of so high a standard, that it 
should seem almost impossible for those who believe in the Sacred Scriptures and history not to 
he convinced of the soundness of the doctrine of the Catholic Church regarding the Confessional. 
If is a book for non-Catholics as well as Catholics. Those who are skeptical as to whether the 
Scriptures support the doctrine of the Confessional will find their objections met, without a quibble, 
by argument which cannot be controverted. In fact 'every weapon that can be used in its defense, 
Sacred Scriptures, tradition, history and the admissions of non-Catholics is used with a master hand. 
As a treatise on logic applied, it is well worth many times the price charged, which is only 25 cents. 
For sale by book dealers. — Newton Weekly Journal. 



A»'e Yon a, Snlwnbrr (o the School Journal? 

A Catholic Magazine, devoted to the interests of Parochial Schools. 

I IE 1 NOT, WxIY HSl'OT? 

There is no Publication in the Union that contains so much Reading Matter, from the pens 
bi the Best Writers, on this most important subject. Catholic parents who wish to discharge 
then duty intelligently and conscientiously cannot afford to do without if. Parishes having Pa- 
rochial Schools are benefitted by its circulation. Parishes having no Parochial Schools 
cannot but come into line even at a great saerafiee if the School Jouroal be circulated. The School 
Journal helps the pastor, the parents, the children in the all important matter of atholic educa- 
tion. Tlu* rights of Catholics are fearlessly and continuously advocated in its columns. Send at 
once your subscription for one year, 75 cts., or at least w rite for a sample copy. Address, 



Editor SCHOOL JOURNAL. 

206 East Sixth Street, : : : : : : : NEW TON. KANSAS. 



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